Summary
The culture in theBlue Lockfacility, a place created by Jinpachi Egoto develop the world’s best soccer striker,is incredibly cutthroat. Players must learn to eitherbecome independent players on their ownor risk being eliminated fairly quickly, since the participants are ranked based on skill and success in various challenges over the weeks of the program. One player has earned his status asone of the best players, but his success has not come without significant struggles.
Rin, one of the players at the Blue Lock facility,is well-known for being unpleasant and standoffish. However, he does not portray this persona just to be unkind. In his mind, he has reason to be aloof. He is one of the most mysterious characters inBlueLock, and his inner struggles and past are slowly unraveled for the audience, piece by piece.
Although he may seem to be the most arrogant and cocky player inBlue Lock, with impeccable soccer skills, Rin is somewhat insecure, since he frequently compares himself to and competes with his older brother.
Rin’s Arrogant Persona Contrasts With His Comparison With His Older Brother
Sae, His Sibling, Is Japan’s Best Soccer Player, Giving Rin a Nearly Impossible Standard To Live Up To
This self-comparison Rin struggles with, while acting high and mighty during games and when interacting with the other players inBlue Lock, isan intriguing juxtaposition that makes him a truly complex character.In spite of his haughty persona, Rin is floundering, with virtually no true personality of his own, because he is living in the shadow of Sae Itoshi, his talented older brother.Blue Lockauthor, Muneyuki Kaneshiro, explains his reasoning behind writing Rin’s character this way. He intended to write a player “forced to grow up” and do the difficult work of forging his own identity apart from his brother’s.
“Boys around Rin’s age don’t really have a firm grip on their identity. There is a kind of glow just before they realize that ‘I’m not so great’ and lose their all-powerful sense of self. I like that kind of transition. Rin represents the loss of that spark as he’s being forced to grow up. I think that’s why Rin deliberately complicates his feelings toward his older brother and soccer, as well as his sense of self.” -Muneyuki Kaneshiro
Maturing and growing is a difficult and tumultuous enough experience on its own, but Rin has to brave this new part of lifeall while feeling overshadowed by his more experienced and accomplished siblingwho also happens to play professional soccer, Sae Itoshi. Sae is Japan’s best soccer player and far more advanced than Rin, although Rin is an excellent player, especially considering his fairly young age. However, although Rin is the best in Blue Lock, he cannot enjoy this accomplishment adequately while knowing his brother is the best in Japan as a whole and has achieved more than him.
Rin Felt Left Behind When Sae Went To Play Soccer Professionally
Their Relationship Has Always Been Complex and This Choice Caused Even Further Strain
To complicate matters further,Sae and Rin’s relationship became very strained.When Sae went to Spain to play professional soccer for a while, Rin felt abandoned and left behind, driving a wedge between the brother duo. Sae was always very blunt and somewhat callous to his younger brother, giving him harsh soccer instruction with little praise. Although the brothers do seem to care for one another in their own way, Rin certainly felt left behind when the older brother he always admired left him in the dust to go compete internationally on his own, when they had always played together before.
The dynamic between Sae and Rin is quite similar in some ways to Nagi and Reo’s relationship, with the former becoming more skilled than the latter and leaving to pursue greater opportunities, with the former left feeling abandoned and resentful. Thankfully, both pairs continue to work on their friendships throughoutBlue Lock.These complex layers to his personality make Rin one of Blue Lock’s most interesting heroes,with the most potential for development over time.Since he is only sixteen years old, he has a lot of time to become a more well-rounded and self-assured person than before.
Blue Lock Is the Opposite Of All Other Sports Anime, and That’s Why It Made Me a Fan of the Genre
Blue Lock hooks people who are not fans of sports from the first episode with its unique focus on the individual, rather than the team.
Rin’s True Personality Comes To Light as He Stops Trying To Emulate Sae
Relying on His Own Strengths and Talents, Rin Becomes a Better Player Than Ever
Kaneshiro highlightshow Rin loses his “all-powerful sense of self"as he grows older, becoming more aware of his own shortcomings and mistakes. He gradually realized that he had to create his own persona and personality apart from Sae, rather than attempt to emulate him exactly. In the competitive world of Blue Lock, it is necessary for players to develop their own “ego” or confident outlook, playing soccer selfishly with their own achievement in mind primarily. Rin had to shed his tendency to copy his brother’s soccer style and forge a new strategy that was uniquely his own, finding success when he did.
Rin is very relatable, not just to young teenagers who fit the criteria of “boys around Rin’s age,” as Kaneshiro discussed, but to viewers of all ages. The struggles of growing up and figuring out one’s true personality and values are universal. People of all walks of life can certainly recall their own tough times and challenges faced during young adulthood, and thus, sympathize with Rin even if they don’t understand his specific plight exactly. In this way, Kaneshiro has created amultifaceted character who viewers can connect with, in spite of his oftentimes abrasive and standoffish exterior.
Blue Lock Season 2 Confirmed To Air In 2024, Adapting The Series’ Best Match
Blue Lock’s second season has been confirmed to return in 2024, and it will be one for the ages given the match it will adapt.
Rin’s Story Reveals the Importance of Being True to Oneself
Simply Copying Another Person Is Never Effective, Which Is a Lesson Rin Has To Learn
Rin’s character arc is one of the most interestinginBlue Lock,not only because it covers common themes like maturing to adulthood and making sense of personal identity, but his story also involves sibling rivalry and competition. The more Rin’s “ego” grows and his soccer strategy changes to reflect his own strengths, not Sae’s, the better of a player he becomes. When he leans into his own best talents, he truly begins to shine. This meaningful discovery adds another simple but crucial theme to the story ofBlue Lock,the importance of being oneself, not copying others.
Source:Tumblr(interview translated from Japanese to English by blue-lock-rocky, original interview onAsahi)
Blue Lock
Cast
Blue Lock is a sports-centric animated series based on the manga series of the same name. The show follows the Japan Football Association trying to recover from their poor showing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by hiring a football genius, Ego Jinpachi. With his new intense training regimen, Jinpachi invites the best football players in Japan to compete to become the team’s new star player - and high school student Yoichi Isagi may be exactly who he’s looking for.
